Mark Addy
Mark Addy
Born	Mark Addy Johnson (1964-01-14) 14 January 1964 (age 48) York, England, United Kingdom

Mark Addy Johnson (born 14 January 1964) is an English actor, best known for his roles as Detective Constable Gary Boyle in the British sitcom The Thin Blue Line, Dave in the film The Full Monty, father Bill Miller^[1] in the U.S. sitcom Still Standing and most recently as King Robert Baratheon in the HBO medieval fantasy epic Game of Thrones.

Personal life[link]

Addy was born in Tang Hall, York, and was educated in the city. In 1982–84 he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He lives with his wife Kelly and three children (Ruby, born 2000; Charlie, born 2003; and Oscar, born 2005) in Rufforth, close to Upper Poppleton village, near York. Addy's ancestors have lived in York at least since 1910 when his great-grandfather was living there. His father Ian has spent his working life as a glazier at York Minster.^[2]

Television[link]

Mark Addy as his Game of Thrones character

Addy made his first TV appearance in 1988 in A Very Peculiar Practice, followed by TV performances in shows such as Heartbeat, Band of Gold, Married with Children (one episode), Bruised Fruit, Peak Practice, The Thin Blue Line, Too Much Sun, Sunnyside Farm and most recently Trollied.

He played Bill Miller in Still Standing and played Detective Boyle in the second series of the British sitcom The Thin Blue Line. He also appeared on ITV1's comedy drama series Bonkers, and another ITV comedy drama, Bike Squad, in early 2008 as Sergeant John Rook.

Addy plays the character Robert Baratheon in the HBO series Game of Thrones.

Since 2009 Addy has starred with Fay Ripley in a series of adverts for the relaunched Tesco Clubcard.^[3]

Film[link]

He had a leading role in the film The Full Monty, and played the role of Fred Flintstone in the 2000 film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. In that role, as well as in Still Standing, he played the role of a blue-collar American. He also played a supporting role as Mac McArthur in the 1998 film Jack Frost, with Michael Keaton. In 2001, he played a butler of Chris Rock's character in the movie Down to Earth and also appeared in A Knight's Tale as Roland. Addy played the role of David Philby in The Time Machine and made a guest appearance as the Ship Captain in Around the World in 80 Days with Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan and made an appearance as Friar Tuck in Ridley Scott's 2010 film Robin Hood.

Filmography[link]

Theatre[link]

Addy played Kevin Snell in the 2006 revival of Donkeys' Years at the Comedy Theatre in London, and in 2007-08 he has appeared at the National Theatre as Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing and as Hjalmar Johansen in Fram. In 2011, he played Vladimir, an NKVD officer, in Collaborators at the National Theatre, which also featured in the National Theatre Live programme, where live performances are broadcast to cinemas around the world.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mark Addy at the Internet Movie Database
• Rotten Tomatoes listing

Lena Headey
Headey at the 2007 Scream Awards.
Born	(1973-10-03) 3 October 1973 (age 38) Bermuda
Nationality	English
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Peter Paul Loughran (m. 2007) «start: (2007)»"Marriage: Peter Paul Loughran to Lena Headey" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Lena_Headey)
Children	Wylie Elliot Loughran

Lena Headey (born 3 October 1973) is an English actress. Headey's performance in a one-off show when she was 17 caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition and eventually she got a supporting role alongside Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke in the 1992 British drama film Waterland^[1] and went on to appear with higher-profile actors in major films such as The Remains of the Day (1993), The Jungle Book (1994), Onegin (1999) and Aberdeen (2000).

After working steadily as an actress getting small and supporting roles in films throughout the 1990s, she found fame for her lead performances in big-budget motion pictures that became well-known like the fantasy film The Brothers Grimm (2005), in which she acted opposite Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, the action period film 300 (2007), portraying the role of Queen Gorgo and the adventure and biopic feature The Red Baron (2008).

She is known for playing the starring role Sarah Connor on Fox's television spin-off of James Cameron's popular Terminator film series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009). She currently appears as Cersei Lannister in HBO's television series Game of Thrones (2011), which has received universal acclaim from both critics and audience.^[2]

Background[link]

Headey was born in Bermuda, where her father, John, an English police officer, was sent as an advisor shortly before she was born. Lena is the oldest child; she has one younger brother named Tim. The family returned to England in 1979, first to Somerset for two years, then Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. She had her first taste of acting as a pupil at Shelley College and had her first big break at the age of 17 when she was spotted performing in a school production at the Royal National Theatre being picked for a role opposite Grant Warnock in the 1992 film Waterland.^[3] She has never been back to her birthplace.

Headey has suffered bouts of clinical depression since the age of 15 and she said in an interview: "I was diagnosed when I was 15, and it comes and goes. I may suffer from it once or twice a year, but I now recognise it and deal with it. I don't use medication because I'm so worried about becoming dependent on it, but I can understand people who do, because you go through the most horrendous feelings of isolation".^[4]

Career[link]

Early roles[link]

At the age of 17, Headey performed in a one-off show and a casting agent, after seeing her, took a photo and asked her to audition. Later, she got a supporting role in the British drama Waterland, in which she had the opportunity to work with actors who had been in the business several years before her. She landed a small role in The Remains of the Day, which came out in 1993. After its release, the film earned positive reviews and became a box office success as well. The Remains of the Day got eight Academy Awards nominations. She worked with one of the most powerful Hollywood actors, Anthony Hopkins.

She played Katherine in Disney's The Jungle Book, released in 1994. The film came out to positive reviews and earned near $44 million in the United States.^[5] Headey, alongside her co-stars received favourable reviews with James Berardinelli praising their "solid performances".^[6] On the set of The Jungle Book, she met her boyfriend of nine years, actor Jason Flemyng.

After a string of roles in films, she acted opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the 1997 romantic drama Mrs Dalloway. Headey landed a supporting role in a higher-profile film titled Onegin, which Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler starred in. A following year, she had the starring role in the comedy-drama Aberdeen. Headey received several good reviews for her performance in the film. She also had played roles in 2000's Gossip and 2001's The Parole Officer.

She received the Silver Iris Award for Best Actress at the 2001 Brussels European Film Festival for her role in Aberdeen. In 2003, she was also nominated for the Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress for that same performance. In 2002, she had a role in the mystery drama Possession alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart.

Rise to prominence[link]

Headey co-starred with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm, which was released in August 2005. The film received mixed or average reviews shortly after its release and was a success at the box office. Headey spoke about her character in the film during an interview: "I loved the fact that she was a tomboy. That is what attracted me to her is that she wasn’t this predictable female character in this big movie. You meet her and she is masking who she is. I loved that her environment dictated who she is. She lives and grows up and survives in the forest. Terry and I talked about how her instincts are almost animalistic and she can see 360 degrees around her. She is aware of what is going on. That is how she is grounded . She is of the earth".^[7]

In 2005, she starred with actress Piper Perabo in the films The Cave and Imagine Me & You. The Cave was not well received by critics^[8] and did poorly at the box office.^[9]

The British romantic comedy-drama Imagine Me & You came out receiving a limited release and earning positive reviews and there were lots of critics who praised Headey's performance as a lesbian in the film; Nick LaSalle from San Francisco Chronicle stated that the actress "has a forthright, irresistible appeal and a face and especially a smile that suggest intelligence, integrity and lots of fun".^[10]

Headey at the 300 London premiere

Headey played Queen Gorgo in Zack Snyder's 300, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel. Headey had to get naked while shooting the film. "It’s always weird the thought of taking your clothes off in front of 20 people and then to have it projected in front of many more", she told IndieLondon during an interview. "I think it was necessary because we only get that scene to establish their relationship. It is a very obvious moment but I think it does it in quite a beautiful way."^[11]

In addition to her film work, Headey headlined Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a television spin-off from James Cameron's popular Terminator franchise. Headey played Sarah Connor from January 2008 to April 2009. The show ran two seasons consisting of 31 episodes until its cancellation in May 2009. Variety praised "Headey's gritty performance as Sarah – managing to be smart, resourceful and tough, yet melancholy and vulnerable as well" and that the Chronicles "continue to deliver", getting "considerable mileage out of the constant peril" facing the characters.^[12] She was nominated twice for the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television for the role.

Low-profile films[link]

Recent roles include the German film The Red Baron (known in Germany as Der rote Baron), a biographical film of the legendary World War I fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, where she appeared alongside Matthias Schweighöfer and Joseph Fiennes.^[13] Her character was the love interest Käte Otersdorf, a nurse who may or may not have had a romance with Richthofen (Schweighöfer) in real life.^[14] She also appeared as stuffy Miss Dickinson in the 2007 release of the St. Trinian's series (for which she received third billing for a relatively minor role). She starred in the Ridley Scott produced Tell-Tale, a film based on the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. The movie went straight to DVD on 25 May 2008.^[15]

She also portrayed the starring role in the 2008 horror film The Broken. The film was directed by Academy Award-nominated Sean Ellis.^[16] The film is about "a woman who suspects she's being followed around London by a murderous doppelganger".^[17] The Broken was screened at the midnight section of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, generally got average reviews and some critics praised Headey's portray include Kim Koynar for Cinematical who wrote that Headey "largely carries the film, and does so quite ably".^[18]

She landed the lead part in another horror film titled Laid to Rest, which was first screened in 2008 as well. However, the film came out on 21 April 2009 directly to video, and earned mixed reviews after its release; critic Mark H. Harris for About.com state that the film "has a great look and boasts an impressive cast" referring to both Headey and co-star Thomas Dekker.^[19] Headey had a part in a short film called The Devil's Wedding. She provided her voice for an episode of the Cartoon Network TV show The Super Hero Squad Show.

2010 onwards[link]

Headey has wrapped shooting the first season of the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on the first book of the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, where she plays the cruel queen, Cersei Lannister.^[20] She had a guest appearance in the hit TV show White Collar in the episode "Taking Account" in which she played the role of Sally. She is nominated for a Scream Award in the category of Best Fantasy Actress.^[21]

She is set to appear in the action sci-fi film Dredd. The film is going to be released in late 2012. Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby will co-star in it. Her character is Madeline Madrigal, the leader of an American revolutionary group, and the project's primary villain.^[22] Dredd is a film adaptation of 2000 AD character Judge Dredd.^[23] The film is to be directed by Pete Travis with a script by Alex Garland. The movie will come out in 3D.^[24]

Media[link]

She has appeared on the covers of TV Guide, g3, Sunday Mirror and Germany's Filmstar. She ranked No. 64 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. She was listed No. 4, No. 10 and No. 3 in afterellen.com's list Hot 100 in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively.^[25] In 2008, Headey spoke out against animal abuse in an advert for animal welfare group PETA.^[26]

Personal life[link]

Headey was for a while engaged to Johnny Cicco and dated actor Jason Flemyng for nine years. She and Flemyng met during the filming of The Jungle Book. She has a tattoo of his name in Thai on her arm. She is close friends with actress Piper Perabo.^[27] She is a vegetarian, and has campaigned on behalf of animal rights.^[28] She married musician Peter Paul Loughran in May 2007 and the couple have a son, Wylie Elliot Loughran, who was born 31 March, 2010.^[29][30][31] She currently has homes in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles and London. Her height is 5 feet, 5½  inches.^[32]

She practices boxing and yoga. "I also started Bikram yoga." She said in an interview. "A few years ago I used to box in London and that held me in good stead".^[33]

Filmography[link]